Skylights are used to provide natural light (i.e., daylight) in residential, commercial and other buildings, as well as in other structures.
Conventional skylights can pose numerous problems, including water leakage, heat loss, lack of light on overcast or stormy days, difficulty installing, or impossibility/impracticality of installing (e.g., in the first story of a multi-story structure. In addition, conventional skylights—like windows—typically get dirty, streaked and/or smeared, and as a result there is often a frequent desire (or need) to clean them. In addition, direct sunlight can sometimes produce a great deal of glare on work surfaces and other items, e.g., computer screens, and such glare is typically counterproductive and/or annoying (for example, glare can make it difficult or impossible for a worker to see his or her computer screen). Also, direct sunlight (and/or resulting glare) can increase eye strain (even after a short period of time, and more so during prolonged exposure, including continuous exposure as well as intermittent exposure over periods of time).
It would be beneficial to provide a skylight that overcomes such problems and that provides the benefits of conventional skylights, and/or that can enable there to be control over the light being provided.